A stay away, also known as a ''stay-away'' or ''stayaway'', is a form of

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

where people are told to "stay away" from work. This term has often been used in local communications when organizing various strike actions in

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

between the end of 1997 and recent unsuccessful attempts in 2022.

In Zimbabwe

Stay Away is a form of non-violent

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...

that began occurring in

in response to economic and societal failures by

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

's government in the mid-1990s and onward. According to , this form of protest has the support of all major civic bodies in the country. It calls for a solid one- or two-day "stay away" from work to protest in a manner that will not expose people to the violence and

intimidation Intimidation is a behaviour and legal wrong which usually involves deterring or coercing an individual by threat of violence. It is in various jurisdictions a crime and a civil wrong (tort). Intimidation is similar to menacing, coercion, terro ...

of the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. Stay-away campaigns are often communicated through e-mail and text messaging.

"Just stay at home - do your buying on Wednesday and then take a 4-day break. Do not go out if you can avoid it as there may be trouble and the safest place for you is at home."

In South Africa

In 1950, as part of the ANC's Programme of Action the ANC in coordination with the South African Indian Congress, the African People's Organization, and the Communist Party of South Africa, they organized the May Day Strike. It was a one day stay-away on May Day to protest low wages, the banning of Communist leaders and the further plans to ban the Communist party by the South African government. Stay aways were also used by organizers of the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n insurrection of 1984–1986, with over 40 stay aways used in 1985 and 1986 alone. Between August 1984 and December 1986, four times more political work stoppages were staged than in the entire preceding three and a half decades.Price, Robert M. ''The Apartheid State in Crisis.'' p. 193-94. New York: Oxford UP, 1991 In addition to school

boycotts A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

s and

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

action taken by the ANC, they made South Africa ungovernable and forced the Apartheid government to gradually reform until it was finally abolished in 1994.

Notes

Politics of Zimbabwe Labor disputes {{labor-stub

In Zimbabwe

In South Africa

See also

Notes